my journey to health and happiness

Kale and Quinoa Power Salad!

Happy Thursday everybody! This morning I got in a nice 3 mile run, and I’ve noticed I’m running faster than I have in the last couple weeks. Yaaaay for progress! Plus this morning’s temperature of 36 actually felt warm compared to my runs lately.

Today for my lunch at work I didn’t have a whole lot of options in my fridge of already prepared food (which is what I usually eat) so I had to get a little creative, and I’m so glad I did! I made this amazing salad, full of superfoods that kept me full for hours, and gave me tons of vitamins!

This salad has: kale, carrots, blueberries, almonds, and quinoa. I can’t even BEGIN to list all the health benefits of each of those. Together they made a delicious and quick lunch that is very portable, and easy to take to work or school for lunch!

Kale and Quinoa Power Salad

1/2 cup prepared quinoa (just follow directions on box, and cool)

about 2 cups kale, torn into small pieces with stems removed

1/4 cup shredded carrot

2 tbsp slivered almonds

1/4 cup blueberries

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp water

To make dressing, combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a jar and keep in the fridge- this makes enough for several salads so you have leftovers! Pour about 1 tbsp of dressing on kale and massage it for a couple of minutes, this will break down the kale and make it more tender. Place in fridge for about 15 minutes and allow to marinate. Then put the rest of your salad ingredients together and add more dressing if desired. Enjoy! 🙂

This salad was very filling for me, and when I eat things like kale I feel like I have superpowers because I know it’s so good for my body. This is not, however, a low calorie salad. Mine came to about 500, but it’s calories filled with nutrients my body needs to keep going!